FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: milwaukeedsa@gmail.com
MILWAUKEE, WI – December 21, 2018 – The Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) system is under attack by neoliberal austerity imperatives and lingering racial injustice. Working-class families, students, and staff deserve an advocate on the MPS Board of School Directors who understands deeply the structural obstacles holding back transformative change in the education of our communities.
Milwaukeeans need a representative who understands what it will take to rebuild a public education system that has been severely undermined by policies and postures which envision education as a commodity, instead of as a civil right. Candidate Bob Peterson believes that “capitalism places private profit over public good and basic justice.” In addition to his roles as a teacher in MPS for nearly 30 years and a former MPS parent, Bob has tirelessly committed himself to the struggle for equity in Milwaukee and beyond. That is why the Milwaukee Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is endorsing Bob Peterson for a city-wide position on the MPS Board of School Directors.
Bob plans to use the power of the Board of School Directors to affect palpable change in structural limitations plaguing Milwaukee communities: he insists that “we cannot rebuild our Milwaukee Public Schools without rebuilding our neighborhoods. Our public schools, in turn, are essential to that rebuilding. But only if we preserve our schools as democratic institutions connected to the community.”
Among the candidates running for the at-large school board seat, Bob stands apart for his commitment to building an anti-racist, anti-imperialist, anti-misogynist approach to education. As a member of the board, Bob will support policies that put MPS students first and democratize control of our public schools . These include:
—Providing K-3 Kindergarten education for all;
—Decreasing Class Sizes
—Providing full-time art, music, PE teachers, and librarians in all schools
—Augmenting access to social services, mental health, and counseling support in all schools;
—Transforming the schools into greenhouses for democracy to be democratically run by school councils;
—Replacing current punitive and exclusionary practices with restorative practices;
—Combating the red-lining that currently delineates the overall structure of MPS;
—Supporting union power and bargaining rights;
—Fighting for a living wage and comprehensive healthcare benefits for all MPS employees including substitute teachers;
—Decolonizing education through an engaging, project-based, anti-racist multicultural, anti-misogynist, multi-lingual curriculum that promotes critical thinking and civic action;
—Increasing the number of teachers of color across all classrooms.
Members of Milwaukee DSA are excited to encourage voters who live in the City of Milwaukee to vote for Bob Peterson on February 19 and April 2. We are proud to support someone who believes that a better world is possible and who will undertake steps necessary to empower families and young Milwaukeeans.
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About Democratic Socialists of America:
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is the largest socialist organization in the United States with over 55,000 members (as of December 2018). DSA’s members are building progressive movements for social change while establishing an openly democratic socialist presence in American communities and politics.
For more information, see: milwaukee.dsawi.org and dsausa.org.